PL leader Joseph Muscat yesterday outlined the party’s manifesto for the European Parliament elections, saying it consists of an action plan aimed toward a better day for citizens.

The party’s manifesto, which was presented to journalists during a press conference yesterday, comes in the form of a booklet with a futuristic design that uses silver as its main colour.

The PL had chosen the slogan “Direzzjoni Success: Nemmnu, Nahdmu, Nirnexxu” (Aiming to be successful: Believing, Working, Succeeding) at the beginning of the year.

The slogan’s three keywords shape the manifesto, which outlines 18 points that the elected PL candidates for the European Parliament elections are pledging to work on during the next five years.

The party’s foremost priorities are the generation of employment, combating the cost of living and illegal migration.

This is Dr Muscat’s first election as leader of the Labour Party. He said the forthcoming election is set to be a difficult one for the party, particularly since the PL is starting off from a general election defeat, and because the Nationalist Party is after its “biggest electoral victory ever”.

Yesterday, the Labour leader also spoke about the party’s campaign for the local elections, saying 130 Labour candidates will be contesting (five more than there were in the same localities three years ago), 26 of whom are women and 42 of whom are young people. The youngest candidate is just 20 years old.

The candidates come from different walks of life, and they include lawyers, notaries, architects, a doctor, teachers, as well as students, self-employed, factory workers, housewives and pensioners.

Dr Muscat said the range of people contesting the local council elections on behalf of the PL represents the coalition between workers, students and pensioners that the party wants to bring together with the view of improving work conditions for everyone.

Referring to the European Parliament elections, Dr Muscat said the Labour Party understands the people’s dissatisfaction caused by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s failure to keep his promises.

On the issue of employment, Dr Muscat said: “You cannot just talk about work, you have to create jobs. In the last six months, unemployment soared by 31 per cent”.

He also spoke about the cost of living, saying it was absolutely necessary to cut abuse as soon as possible.

On illegal migration, he said the country has to show it has a sense of direction. He said the Labour Party had drawn up a 20-point plan and presented it in parliament.

Dr Muscat also noted, as he has done over the last few days, the importance of the declaration by Martin Schulz, the leader of the European Socialist Party (PES), which pledges the party’s support for Malta on the issue of illegal migration.

In his letter, Mr Schulz said the issue has become too urgent, and that Malta cannot continue to wait for Europe to discuss a new policy that each member state has to agree to.

Dr Muscat said the PES is treating the situation as a special case and he proposed that special action be taken in the forthcoming term of the European Parliament, in a bid to safeguard the interests of Malta and its people.

In the last five years, the Labour MEPs worked for the issue of illegal migration to become a central one in the European parliament. In fact, he said, there was a e30 million increase in funds for Frontex, as well as the allocation of specific funds in EU budgets, aimed at dealing with illegal migration.

The Labour leader said that in the last five years, the three Labour MEPs made important achievements in favour of Maltese families and their quality of life.

Among the achievements, he said, were the removal of the air departure tax, the removal of the tax on satellite dishes, and the campaign regarding the VAT charged illegally on vehicle registration since 2004.

Dr Muscat also mentioned the 50 per cent reduction in roaming charges, the pressure put on the government regarding the Late Payment Directive, and the effort to stop the Spanish European City Guide from defrauding a number of enterprises, NGOs and self-employed.

He said the Labour MEPs worked in favour of workers still being able to work over-time hours, they safeguarded port workers’ jobs, they worked in favour of a moratorium on home loan payments for people who lost their jobs, and they worked in favour of European Globalisation Fund assistance for workers who lost their jobs, as in the case of those who were employed with Denim Jeanswear.

The Labour leader also mentioned work in favour of part-timers working for up to eight hours a week to be given the same rights as full-timers, the introduction of the Strategic Environment Assessment Directive, the organisation of seminars on EU funds for local councils, and the assistance to NGOs to have access to EU funds.

The PL’s candidates for the 6 June European parliament elections are:- Claudette Abela Baldacchino, John Attard-Montalto, Glenn Bedingfield, Steve Borg, Maria Camilleri, Joseph Cuschieri, Sharon Ellul Bonici, Louis Grech, Kirill Micallef Stafrace, Marlene Mizzi, Edward Scicluna, and Christian Zammit.

Further information on the campaign can be obtained from www.direzzjonisuccess.eu.